Patient Lady strikes back

Cogito drop a race as C-Class Championship turns to match racing

On Narragansett Bay the International C-Class Catamaran Championship went into phase two today with the start of the match racing competition with Cogito, the Little America's Cup defenders and winners of the this event's fleet racing first half lining up against their predecessor Patient Lady VI. Meanwhile the Airbus team from the UK on Invictus Challenge raced the Australians on Team Ronstan in the 'petit-finals'.

Once again conditions were light and the start of racing was delayed from 1100 until just after 1500.

Aside from the match racing, there were a few additional changes made to the racing format. The system for today's racing was a 'best of three format' where the first boat to record two wins won points for the day. The course had been shortened from the usual windward-broad reach-beam-reach-broad race-windward-leeward to twice around a windward-leeward course. Also it was deemed that crews could be changed.

The first race between the two American teams caused gasps among the onlookers basking in the sun out on the water.

Patient Lady VI tacked on to port soon after the start leaving Cogito to go out to the left. Patient Lady then tacked back to sail up the middle of the course and by the weather mark she held a 100-150m lead over Duncan MacLane and Steve Clark's form boat. Although Cogito was able to eat up their lead over the course of the next three legs, it was the Tornado hotshots Lars Guck and Stan Schreyer who were able to take their first race off the seemingly invincible Cogito.

For today's racing Patient Lady VI has had her mast extension fitted to bring her up to the maximum sail area allowed by the class.

Unfortunately the tables turned in the next two races which were both won by Cogito taking the points for today's racing.

For the start of the first 'petit-final' between the Brits and Aussies the wind was around 8 knots and the two boats hit the start line together and were sailing neck and neck until 20 seconds after the gun when the wind once again dropped. "It felt like a gale after what we’d been sailing in," described Paul Larsen. During this race Gavin Colby at the helm of Team Ronstan had to leap into action when the crossbar joining the two rudders, sheared off one rudder. A bolt joining the two had popped out and Colby was able to put it back in and lash it in place on the fly.

For the second race Helena Darvelid replaced Larsen on board the British boat. In this race the wind was still less than 5 knots, conditions in which the British boat suffers and the Australians took off to lead around the race course, securing the day's result in this competition.

Tomorrow will see the match racing continue with Invictus Challenge going into the first race with Larsen on the helm and Darvelid on the trapeze. The wind is forecast to be slightly greater, but not double figures as the British team would like.